MUNGBEAN BREEDING - A LOOK INTO DPI&F'S CRYSTAL BALL

| Date: 10 Sep 2008

Figure 1: Performance of commercial mungbean varieties in the GRDC Northern region 2003-07

 

Take home message

·         Crystal A mungbean is a new variety of large, green-seeded mungbean
·         broadly adapted to all mungbean production areas, and
·         the most complete package of yield, quality and agronomy currently available to Australian mungbean growers
·         Resistance to powdery mildew and tan spot has been identified in new germplasm
·         Now developing and evaluating the next generation of mungbean varieties

 

Introduction

The National Mungbean Improvement Program was initiated in 2003 to develop and release new varieties with increased productivity and restore grower confidence in mungbean as a reliable summer cropping option. The main components of this research were to
 
1.      Evaluate advanced breeding lines in dryland and irrigated trials from CQ to NSW
2.      Identify useful genetic diversity for diseases resistance and useful agronomic characteristics from the Australian and international germplasm collections
3.      Integrate useful genetic diversity into the breeding program

 

Benefits of crystal

 

Yield

Field evaluation of 250 advanced breeding lines at thirty five sites was undertaken between 2003 and 2007. Two elite lines have been identified for commercial release. The first of these ‘Crystal’ A will be released in summer 2008/09 and is protected under Plant Breeder’s Rights.
 
Across all trials Crystal has on average 20% higher yield than Emerald (Figure 1 and Table 1).
Crystal is consistently higher yielding than Emerald and has a marked yield advantage under more favourable conditions.

 

Grain quality

Crystal has superior seed quality to all current commercial mungbean varieties. Seed size, uniformity of colour and shape have been tested across a range of seasonal constraints.

 

Agronomy

Crystal has agronomy equivalent to current commercial varieties

 

Disease resistance

Crystal is rated Moderately Resistant to both Tan Spot and Powdery Mildew. Crystal is rated Moderately Susceptible to Halo Blight. This represents the best available suite of disease resistances among current mungbean varieties.

 

The future

 

Next generation mungbeans

Characterisation and evaluation of 750 germplasm lines from the Australian and international germplasm collections has identified new sources of resistance to the three main diseases that affect Australian mungbeans. These are Powdery Mildew (Podosphaera fusca), Tan Spot (Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens pv. flaccumfaciens) and Halo Blight (Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. phaseolicola).
 
Crosses between agronomically adapted varieties such as White Gold, Emerald, Berken, and new lines from the germplasm collection were made to introduce new traits such as disease resistance, improved grain quality, and to increase the level of genetic diversity.
 
Field testing of new lines began in the 2007/08 season and will continue with the second phase of the National Mungbean Improvement Program 2008-11. New lines that combine the yield and agronomic characteristics of current varieties with disease resistance will form the next generation of mungbean varieties.

 

Improved agronomic packages

On 1st July DPI&F commenced a collaborative research project with the Australian Centre for International Agriculture (ACIAR) and the Indonesian government to improve the productivity and profitability of tropical pulses in both Indonesia and Australia. Work in Australia will focus on developing Variety Management Packages (VMPs) for new mungbean releases as well as introduction and evaluation of new germplasm.

 

Contact details

Col Douglas
DPI & F, Biloela, Qld
Ph: (07) 4992 9112
Fx: (07) 4992 3468
Mb: 0439 875 799
 
 Figure 1: Performance of commercial mungbean varieties in the GRDC Northern region 2003-07
 
 
Table 1 Grain yields for commercial mungbean varieties expressed as t/ha and as % of cv. Emerald
 
CQ
 
%Emerald
 
SQ
 
%Emerald
 
NSW
 
%Emerald
 
Overall
 
%Emerald
 
Crystal
1.321
114
1.099
123
0.950
125
1.132
120
White Gold
1.319
114
1.050
118
0.870
114
1.092
116
Delta
1.247
108
0.912
102
0.801
105
1.001
106
Satin
1.209
104
0.924
104
0.821
108
0.994
106
Emerald
1.155
100
0.888
100
0.759
100
0.945
100
Berken
1.118
96
0.918
103
0.795
105
0.944
100
Green Diamond
1.108
95
0.814
91
0.692
91
0.884
94
Celera
1.039
90
0.755
85
0.627
83
0.814
87
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
No. of sites
14
 
10
 
11
 
35